Chapter 154: New Four-Star Card
"Huh? What did you just say?" Ian was slightly taken aback. "You want to take your people away? Those fish-men?"
Jinbe nodded and said, "Yes. Although it's very rude to use this as a bargaining chip, I must do so!"
"Why?" Ian asked. "Even though they are your people, that doesn't mean you have to control their freedom, does it?"
"It's not like that!" Jinbe explained. "I can tell that you, sir, are currently—"
Before he could finish, Ian interrupted him, saying, "Just call me Ian. Calling me 'sir' all the time is exhausting! You're older than me, so there's no need for such formalities."
"Very well, Ian!" Jinbe said amiably. "You're likely planning to form a pirate crew now, right? To fight against the pursuing Marines? Originally, since you rescued my people and they are willing to follow you, I shouldn't interfere. However, the fish-man race is currently working to ease tensions with humans. Fish-Man Island has been striving for this for years. In such a sensitive period, we cannot afford another confrontation between the fish-men and the Marines or the World Government. So..."
To someone else, the meaning behind Jinbe's words might not have been clear, but Ian understood.
Although he couldn't personally go to Fish-Man Island to witness the lives of the fish-men, Ian knew that a key figure there, Queen Otohime, had been trying to ease the hostility between fish-men and humans. She didn't want the next generation of Fish-Man Island to live forever in the sunless sea, and she hoped for mutual acceptance between humans and fish-men. Though Queen Otohime had passed away, her efforts still influenced many, including Jinbe.
In fact, the World Government also wanted to ease racial tensions with the fish-men. That's why they allowed Jinbe to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. By the same logic, they had secretly released Arlong, whom Ian had captured.
But they were powerless to completely stop the human trafficking of fish-men...
Both the World Government and Jinbe's Fish-Man Island were willing to ease tensions and were working toward that goal. So, Jinbe's request was understandable. He wanted to take those fish-men away to avoid any negative impact at this critical moment.
Don't underestimate the appearance of these few fish-men. It could potentially undo all of Fish-Man Island's efforts.
Understanding Jinbe's intentions, Ian sympathized with his predicament. Although it was a pity to let those fish-men go—since fish-men, as experts in naval combat, would be a great asset—Ian decided to accept Jinbe's terms.
Not accepting wasn't an option either. Jinbe's prestige among the fish-men was very high. If Ian insisted on keeping them, it might breed resentment in the end.
So, he nodded and said, "Alright, you can take them away!"
Jinbe hadn't expected Ian to be so agreeable. After a moment of surprise, he bowed to Ian and said, "I am deeply grateful!"
"But I have one more condition!" Ian said, stroking his chin. "Besides the ship, I need you to do me a favor."
"Name it!" Jinbe nodded.
"I'm sure you saw when you came ashore," Ian said. "Among the people I rescued, there are many women, children, and elderly. My pirate crew has just been formed, and we're about to face battles with the Marines. It's impossible for me to escort them all. So, I'd like to ask for your help in sending them home."
This had just occurred to Ian. Taking a ship and sending these people from all over the world back home was far too difficult. Meeting Jinbe here was perfect. His status as a Warlord would allow the fish-man pirate ship to pass unhindered. Asking him for this favor was the best option.
"Consider it done!" Jinbe replied solemnly.
Hearing Jinbe's answer, Ian couldn't help but admire his chivalrous spirit. His words carried a strong sense of a big brother's authority.
With the agreement reached, the two returned to the coast.
Under the eager gazes of the crowd, they announced their decision.
The fish-men who were to be taken away by Jinbe showed some regret in their eyes but raised no objections. As for those who were to be sent home, hearing that a Warlord's pirate crew would escort them, they felt much more at ease.
Then, both sides began to get busy. Jinbe directed the members of the Fish-Man Pirates to free up a ship and load it with plenty of food and water for Ian.
Ian, meanwhile, tallied the number of people to be sent away, their destinations, and compiled the information to hand over to Jinbe.
They worked from noon until evening before everything was finalized.
There were over three hundred people to be sent away—a massive number that even Jinbe found astonishing.
But since he had agreed, Jinbe took the list without complaint.
The remaining issue was how to remove the slave brands from these people.
This was a matter that required serious attention. These people had been rescued from the Celestial Dragons, and all of them bore the brand of the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Dragon's Hoof. This mark signified that they were the private property of the Celestial Dragons, a mark of the lower class.
If this mark wasn't removed, not only would the slaves be reminded of their tragic experiences every time they saw it, but they could also be reported. In this world, there were many who hated the Celestial Dragons, but just as many who feared them. If someone else saw their brands, there was a risk that someone might report them out of fear of getting into trouble, leading to them being captured again.
So, during dinner, Ian kept thinking about this.
He had initially thought that, if all else failed, he could do what the Sun Pirates had done—brand a new mark over the old one. Even if it caused some pain, it was better than being captured again.
However, as he ate, Ian suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering something.
Hadn't he used the system's automatic ten-draw to get upgrade stones for his Flying Shadow card?
He had done so many ten-draws to gather enough upgrade stones. He might have drawn some complete cards as well. Why not check to see if there were any stronger healing or support cards?
Ian's two-star Shelley card's healing ability had been fully understood. It was simply wound healing, not capable of effects like regeneration. Why couldn't it heal old injuries? Because those injuries had already healed, so Shelley's card couldn't take effect.
In the system interface, Ian opened his inventory to check his cards and asked the system, "How many ten-draws did I do earlier?"
"A total of 127 ten-draws!" the system replied. "Consuming 635,000 diamonds, you obtained 46 complete two-star cards, 19 complete three-star cards, and 5 complete four-star cards!"
Ian was delighted. Money really was great. The over five billion Berries he had taken from the Celestial Dragons' treasure room—though he had spent about half of it—still left him with enough diamonds to last a long time.
So, in reality, Ian wasn't short on money anymore. What he needed to improve now were his own level and his basic skills.
He had lost interest in training three-star cards. After trying to upgrade his Flying Shadow card's star rating once, he realized the resources required were enormous. Only cards with particularly unique skills were worth cultivating.
So, he first looked at the five newly acquired four-star cards.
To be precise, it was actually four four-star cards, because one of them was a duplicate Yasuo card!
That Yasuo card was automatically converted into 80 Yasuo card fragments, which Ian could use for future upgrades.
Among the four new four-star cards, two were from the Bleach series.
Since he had previously drawn fragments of a Zanpakutō, a special item, it wasn't surprising to see character cards from Bleach.
One of these two cards was the Quincy, Uryū Ishida. Since he was a major character, the system had classified him as a four-star card. Ian had liked this glasses-wearing character when reading the manga, but after seeing his skills, he was dumbfounded.
Uryū Ishida's card skills not only required high Nen training ability but also archery skills!
After swordsmanship, Nen training, and physical combat skills, Ian had finally encountered a new basic skill!
Thinking about it, many anime and game characters did use bows and arrows as weapons. So, after a moment's thought, Ian understood. The system had separated archery as a basic skill for a reason.
However, what really made Ian want to complain was that Uryū Ishida had a passive skill called [Tailoring Skill MAX]...
And its effect was to repair and tailor any clothing, adding lace trims and Quincy crosses...
When he first saw the skill description, Ian burst out laughing, almost spitting out blood. He suddenly thought of Uryū Ishida repairing the exposed cotton of Kon, the stuffed doll...
Damn it, system, your settings are really something else!
Ian couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Uryū Ishida's card's passive effect were combined with the Sew-Sew Fruit ability of the Tontatta tribe member, Leo...?